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- Sadtu and PEU are satisfied with the vaccination of teachers across the country, but will continue to monitor the process.
- EUSA, however, remains skeptical.
- Day one of the vaccination programme saw 48 000 jabs being administered.
The South African Democratic Teachers' Union (Sadtu) and the Professional Educators' Union (PEU) are so far satisfied with the vaccination of teachers, but say they will continue to monitor the process.
The national rollout of vaccinations for teachers began on Wednesday.
"So far, we have not experienced any challenges with the vaccination of teachers. We are fine with the decision to keep schools open as long as teachers are safe and the learners," PEU president Johannes Motona told News24 on Thursday.
"Where there are challenges, we say let each case be dealt with according to its own merits and demerits," Motona added.
Sadtu said while it was satisfied with the process so far, there were some disappointments. The union was concerned that in the rural areas there were fewer vaccination sites.
Sadtu further noted that it was made aware of a centre in Mpumalanga that was reportedly "overcrowded".
However, this was "being sorted out".
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"We note the decision by DBE [Department of Basic Education] to keep schools open and close per school or district, depending on the spread of the virus," said Sadtu spokesperson Nomusa Cembi.
"We welcome that approach, but we are going to be on the lookout to ensure that schools do report the cases so that proper action can be taken."
However, the Educators' Union of South Africa (EUSA) said it was not satisfied with the rollout for teachers and remained skeptical.
"EUSA is skeptical about the sudden availability of additional 280k J&J jabs, especially, that weeks ago FDA in America said some batches of J&J were contaminated. We aren't satisfied at all," said EUSA general secretary, Siphiwe Mpungose.
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News24 earlier reported that the Department of Basic Education had set out to vaccinate its 582 000 teachers and school personnel within 10 working days.
The department had since declared the first day of the teacher vaccination programme a success, with approximately 48 000 jabs administered.
According to preliminary figures, most of the vaccinations took place in KwaZulu-Natal, with the least in the Northern Cape, News24 reported.
